Having slept on it, I see that I have been stupidly naive again. I knew that I owed a courtesy and was happy to pay it, it was just that the thought of further financial consideration took me by surprise. I am, I suppose, a bit ill-at-ease with money, having so little acquaintance with it.
Of course it is right and proper that artists should have the means of making a living from the beauty they produce, the pleasure they give. I have already written a sonnet inspired, in part, by this particular picture. I'm smiling as I recall that I entered it in this year's bake-off and had to withdraw it when I found it on Google. Heigh-ho.
If the matter arises, I shall do the right thing; my conscience and the law are dancing on the head of the same pin. I wonder, though, if the artist (or their agent) gives permission to someone else to use the image, would I as the owner of the "actual" piece need to be consulted? or credited? Probably not. Perhaps it has already appeared all over the place. Would I even know?
And I wonder about their still having it to sell even after parting with the original. I bet that didn't happen in days before photography and digital images.
It's all academic, anyway. I own this painting, even if I don't own the picture, and I love it dearly. It is above my desk as I type. There is a cobweb on the corner of it, quivering in the draught from the computer.
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